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Tarn - mutual eye-rolling's avatar

"Morbidly obese wellness nurses administer flu shots that don’t prevent pneumonia deaths and cause dementia."

Gotta laugh at your picturesque turn of phrase.

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Stephen Simac's avatar

Wish I had to make that up. Observed.

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Richard Seager's avatar

The full cost is indeed very high. Unsustainable in my view and one of the main reasons why the 'West' is failing.

The new bicycle path here around the harbour is barely wide enough for one bike in places. It also is for pedestrians so that in summer when the pedestrians come back out you can guarantee lots of animosity for cyclists. And if they hop back on the road more animosity as they have their own path don't they? Also the narrowness of the path in places guarantees some dips in the harbour for cyclists.

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Richard Seager's avatar

I have suggested taking the road away from cars on the weekend. It has just been closed for the last few weeks due to rockfalls so the locals have now got used to using the perfectly good upper road. I'd be keen to take the lower road away from them on the weekends and maybe during 7-10 and 4-6 on weekdays.

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Stephen Simac's avatar

Is that part of your campaign?

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Richard Seager's avatar

Not yet. What do you suggest?

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Stephen Simac's avatar

you may have hit the jackpot with your pro-woman definition. If your'e unlucky, you might get elected. Better get a suit and club tie.

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Richard Seager's avatar

LOL. Myself and the gender warriors are familiar with each other.

And I figure Carmen might jump ship, or qualify her support, at some stage.

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Stephen Simac's avatar

Start with a Festival One Day. If it's a hit, public demand will lead the charge to make it more permanent. It will be a slog, though.

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Richard Seager's avatar

We're more similar to the States than to the Netherlands so keen to have a look at anything that you can send my way.

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Tarn - mutual eye-rolling's avatar

Opposite problem here.

Narrow street, Tinakori Village, having parking removed to put in bike lanes.

Thus the shops', cafés' customers can't park. There's no public transport in the village.

The bike lanes take over current residents' parking in this medium density heritage colonial area, with horse and cart era housing.

Steep terrain and gale winds mean cycling is more for sunny day recreation.

Ha! Build the lanes and the cyclists will come. Haha, not.

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Stephen Simac's avatar

Lanes pit cyclists against parking, lose, lose.

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Richard Seager's avatar

Plenty of lanes in the Netherlands though.

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Stephen Simac's avatar

I would classify them as a special case. When I was there in 1980 there were no bike lanes, only some fietspads to rural tourist sites. Amsterdam anarchists led the war against auto supremacy.

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Richard Seager's avatar

There was a bit of 'stop the child murder' involved as well (kids being chopped down by cars). But yes Amsterdam seemed to have quite the anarchist (i.e. squatters) movement with lots of attitude towards the establishment. Nevertheless the cycle infrastructure is all over the country and Groningen seems to have beaten Amsterdam to it by several years at least.

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Tarn - mutual eye-rolling's avatar

I found walking around Amsterdam stressful as had to watch out for speedy cyclists on footpaths.

I do not want to return for that reason.

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Stephen Simac's avatar

I've heard that is the case. The new oppressors of pedestrians: arrogant cyclists. At least when a cyclist hits a pedestrian the rider goes down too. Cyclists on sidewalks and footpaths, fearful of sharing a traffic lane, but don't mind petrifying pedestrians with close calls.

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Richard Seager's avatar

I didn't find that but the last time I was there was in the 1990s sometime.

I'm itching to go back to get a feel for the infrastructure. I'm in favour of putting cycles on the roads and pedestrians on the footpaths. Cars? Hmmm.

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Richard Seager's avatar

Seems designed to fail. Plenty of that around.

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A Midwestern Doctor's avatar

Oddly enough part of me really wanted to be a traffic engineer because I was fascinated by all the fluid dynamics that were involved in it, but I ultimately decided on a different career path.

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Stephen Simac's avatar

I'm glad you abandoned that career choice. I really appreciate all the work you are putting into these series and think it would make a great book. Have you been approached by Children's Health Defense to publish on their site? Traffic may be the most complex and dangerous system humans have devised outside of war, and yet we send children out on scooters and bicycles into it.

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A Midwestern Doctor's avatar

Thank you.

I would like to do that if they are amenable to it but the topic hasn't really been discussed. I was asked to do interviews/podcasts for them (I know one of the people who works there) but I don't want to use my voice for any of what I publish.

What I write on here is not my typical genre, so I am undecided on if I want to publish.

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Stephen Simac's avatar

Turtles All the Way Down is anonymous. Nom de Plume?

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